Lockable hasp fastener



March 16, 1954 J KOMENAK- 2,672,040

LOCKABLE HASP FASTENER Filed Feb. 19, 1949 Ill/(117!" l A "m 7 5 4 4. 1 1m ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1954 LOCKABLE HASP FASTENER Albert J. -Komenak, Stamford, Conn., assignor to The Excelsior Hardware Company, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 19, 1949, Serial No. 77,389

(Cl. ML-76) 4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to closure fasteners in general and particularly to lockable hasp fasteners of comely appearance for travelers luggage and the like.

It is an object of the invention to avoid the elongated proportions which have characterized such fasteners particularly when of the type employing a finger operated lever and a link or hasp loop swung therefrom to engage a keeper on the lid of the closure. Such. finger operated lever commonly performs an over-centering, or toggle action, in forcibly drawing together the lid and body of the closure before the fastener is locked in closed condition.

The elongated proportions mentioned have been occasioned by placing the look at or near the end of the finger operated lever that carries the hasp. This has necessitated a considerable lengthening of the finger lever beyond and in addition to the necessary length of the hasp.

A contributory object of the invention is to organize conventionally operating parts of a hasp fastener so that a lock may be carried by the finger lever and so disposed that its mechanism is operable by key or otherwise at a location intermediate the fixed pivotal axis on which the finger lever swings and the'fioating pivotal axis on which the hasp loop swings relatively to the finger lever.

Another object is to provide a of lockable hasp fastener that shall be substantially no greater in length than is its permissible width, without sacrificing any structural sturdiness in the working parts of the hasp whereby, the mounting space required by the hasp shall be reduced to a minimum area of the luggage surface.

A further object is to provide a fastener whose overall thickness becomes compacted to a minimum dimension in closed condition owing to entire absence of waste space between the parts.

A still further object is to obtain the greatest possible sturdiness of the assemblage of working parts of a fastener when shaped to produce a circular outline of the overall structure.

The above and other objects of these improvements will appear'in fuller'particular from the following description of a successful embodiment of the invention in whichdescription reference is made to the appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front face view of a complete fastener embodying the invention showing the parts in closed relationship and locked.

Fig.2 is an edgewise view lcoking from the right at Fig. 1.

draw-lever type Fig. 3 is an exploded view drawn on a smaller scale than Fig. 1 showing the fastener parts in open relation.

Fig. 4 is a View taken in section on the plane 4-4 in Fig. 1 1ooking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the parts of the fastener in open position as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view drawn on an enlarged scale showing the lock removed from the toggle lever.

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view of the lock removed from the toggle lever of Fig. 6 positioned to accord with the showing of parts in the latter figure.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane 8-8 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

As shown in the drawings the complete fastener includes a keeper I2 having holes I3 for screws or rivets (not shown) by means of which the keeper may be secured permanently against the front face of a closure lid (not shown). Thus the keeper meets in edge-to-edge relation a mounting plate I5 having holes I6 therein for screws or rivets (not shown) by means of which the mounting plate may be secured to the front face of a closure body (not shown). A dowel lug I8 on the keeper enters and fits a pocketing space I9 in the mounting plate for assuring and maintaining proper broadside and edgewise alignment of the keeper and the mounting plate.

Keeper I2 may be hollowed out as at 2| in its rear face that abuts against the closure and there is a V-grooved anchorage lug 22 on its front face that affords a retaining seat 23 for a beveled lip 24 on the loop hasp 25 whose exterior outlines may be circular and in conformity with the circular outline of the combined mounting plate and keeper. Thus this loop hasp in the closed condition of the fastener shown in Fig. 1 covers and renders inaccessible the screws or rivets (not shown) that occupy holes I3 and it for securing the fastener parts to the closure.

To achieve the objectives stated hereinbefore, mounting plate I5 is provided with an opening 21 contiguous to which there is a hinge abutment for swingably supporting a finger operated lever structure 34 to which hasp 25 is pivotally coupled. Such abutment in the form herein illustrated comprises two bosses 29 which outstand forwardly from the front surface of the mounting plate and hold a pivot pin 30. This pin spans the space between bosses .29 in a position offset forwardly from the mounting plate, thereby to establish a fixed axis in said position about which the lever structure 34 swings. One face 35 of the lever structure is thereby enabled to swing into close overlapping relation to mounting plate at the borders of the opening 21. Loop hasp is pivotally coupled to lever structure 34 by means of a pivot pin 3! which establishes a floating axis about which the hasp is free to swing relatively to the lever structure.

In register with plate opening 21 lever structure 34 contains a recess in sunken relation to the rear face 35 thereof which recess receives at least a part of the thickness of a lock 38 shown removed therefrom in Fig. '7. The mechanism of this lock may be conventional and contained mostly within the sheet metal case 39 from which three mounting tabs 40 are bent outward to seat on pads 4| forming the floors of marginal niches 42 at the borders of recess 36. Case tabs '40 are retained in said niches by peaning over the metal operably accessible from the exterior of lever structure 34. Such means might comprise a manually operable dialing handle in the case of a combination lock, or might comprise a push button or throw lever or other form of manipulative agent in the case of a snap action or latch type of look, but there is herein shown, to illustra'te one of the various possible lock manipulative means, a key barrel containing the key hole 5 I "and which occupies and is turnable in the bearing hole'52 in lever structure 34 so that the key hole 5| of barrel 50 is accessible outside the lever structure in a location newly devised by these improvements to be intermediate the fixed axis of pivot pin 30 and the floating axis of pivot pin 37.

'In operation relative movement of the parts to their'closure fastening positions in Figs. 1 and 2 compacts the parts into such relationship that the outline of keeper [2 and mounting plate It, combined, 'is that of'a circle with which the similar circular outline of hasp 25 registers, while nearly all of the lever structure 34 is'confined in 'size and location to an area within and substantially smaller than such circle and the lock '38 is substantially smaller in size and confined entirely to an area within said circle. 'Merely the 'liftable lip 54 of the lever 34 overhangs 'at all the boundaries of the circular outline referred to and this is for rendering such lip more conspicuous and accessible for manipulation.

Thus to all purposes and effects the present improved'construction makes possible all theelements and operating advantages of a lockable draw hasp type of fastener-in the form of sturdy parts compacted into a minimum overall size not requiring to be any longer than it is wide.

claims will be understood asdirected to and intended to'cover'all structural equivalents which jicom e within the broadest interpretation of their terms.

'lxA h'asp'fastener including, amounting plate,

4 a lever structure at the front of said plate pivotally mounted thereon in a manner to be swingable about a fixed axis, a hasp pivotally mounted on said swingable lever structure in a manner to be swingable relatively to the latter about a floating axis, and a lock carried on said lever structure including lever locking mechanism disposed to be operably accessible -'from the outside of said lever structure, said mounting plate containing an opening positioned to receive the said lock at least in part.

2. A hasp fastener including, a mounting plate, a lever structure at the front of said plate pivotal-1y mounted thereon in a manner to be swingable about a fixed axis, a hasp pivotally mount- "ed on said 'swingable lever structure in a manner to be swingable relatively to the latter about a floating axis, and a lock carried on said lever structure including a bolt projectable from the latter into engagement with said mounting plate, said look further including mechanism for operating said bolt disposed to be operably accessible from the outside of said lever structure, and

said mounting plate containing an opening receptive to the said lock presenting a striking surface contiguous to said opening positioned to be lockingly engaged by the said bolt when said lock occupies said opening.

3. A hasp fastener including, a mounting plate, a lever structure at the front of said plate having a pivotal mounting thereon permitting said lever to be swingable about a fixed axis, a hasp ivotally mounted on said swingable lever structure in a manner to be swingable relatively to the latter about a floating axis, a lock carried on said lever structure including lever locking mechanism disposed to be operably accessible from the outside of said lever structure, said mounting plate containing an opening receptive to said lock and being overlapped by said lever, and a hinge abutment carried by and projecting forward from said mounting plate beside said opening affording said pivotal mounting for said lever and offsetting said fixed axis forwardly from said plate.

4. A hasp fastener including, a mounting plate, a lever structure at the front of said plate pivotally mounted'thereon in a manner to be swingable about a fixed axis, a hasp pivotally mounted on said swingable lever structure in a manner to be swingable relatively to the latter about a floating axis, and a lock carried on said lever structure including lever locking mechanism disposed 'to be operably accessible from the outside of said lever structure, said lever having a face swingable into overlapping relation to the said mounting plate and containing a recess in sunken relation to said face occupied by a portion of the said lock, and said mounting plate con taining an opening receptive to the remaining portion of said look when said lever face overlaps said mounting plate. ALBERT J. KOMENAK. I

References Cited in the file or this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,521,082 Duggan Dec. 30, 1924 2,300,508 Komenak Nov. 3, 1942 

